Pennantia corymbosa

Pennantia corymbosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Pennantiaceae
Genus:	Pennantia
Species:	P. corymbosa
Binomial name
Pennantia corymbosa

Pennantia corymbosa, or commonly known as kaikōmako, is a small dioecious forest tree of New Zealand.

Small creamy, white flowers are produced between November and February, followed by a shiny black fruit in autumn. They are a favourite food of the New Zealand bellbird.

The Māori name kaikōmako means food (kai) of the bellbird (kōmako). Traditionally the Māori used kaikōmako to make fire by repeatedly rubbing a pointed stick into a groove on a piece of māhoe.^[1]

One of the English names is "duck's foot", coming from the shape of the juvenile plant's leaf.^[2] Juvenile plants have small leaves with tangled, divaricating stems, while mature plants have much larger leaves and a normal tree architecture.

A kaikōmako tree

References

1. "Traditional Plant Use By Māori". eske-style. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
2. "Kaikomako (Pennantia corymbosa)". Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network. Retrieved 2012-04-23.